How To Choose The Best Ribeye At The Grocery Store, Without Fail

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A ribeye is a highly desirable cut of steak from the musculature between a cows' ribs, beloved for being ultra-tender and super flavorful. While you can certainly order a delicious ribeye at a steakhouse, we consulted an expert to help you choose the best ribeye at the grocery store. 

In an interview with Brad Baych, aka the Butcher Wizard, a professional butcher and the author of "Primal Cuts: A Butcher's Guide to Selecting, Preparing, and Perfecting Beef," he said, "You want to first look for an individual ribeye that has a large ribeye cap." As he explains, "The ribeye cap is a very marbled piece of meat that might be the best single bite on the whole cow." With such a high level of steak marbling, the cap is further responsible for both the flavor and texture of the ribeye. As the outer cap cooks over high heat, it all but bastes the rest of the ribeye, which gives it a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a rich, ultra beefy flavor.

"Ribeyes can vary in where some have a bigger cap on the steak, and others are leaner and almost look like New York strips," adds Baych. To ensure the largest cap, look for the chuck-end ribeye (which includes rib 6 through 9). You can lock in even more juiciness by selecting a bone-in, chuck-end ribeye as the bone acts to insulate the meat while it cooks.

Another factor that's important when looking for ribeyes at the grocery store, according to Baych, is thickness. "You will see a lot of grocery stores cut really thin ribeyes. As prices go up, they don't want to have a package of steaks that has a huge price tag," he said. "In turn, they will cut thin ribeyes to decrease the package weight." But a low price tag isn't worth a subpar ribeye. So, splurge for a 1½-inch or 2-inch ribeye to really reap the tasty benefits. A thick ribeye allows you to get a perfectly seared crust and a pink, juicy interior, making for the perfect textural contrast that also upholds the ultra decadent, buttery flavor from the marbling. 

As for preparing the steak, one of the mistakes to avoid with ribeye is cooking it straight out of the fridge. You want the ribeye to rest beforehand for even cooking. A steak as flavorful as this one needs little more than a generous seasoning of salt and pepper, and we'd recommend seasoning the ribeye before and during cooking. Seasoning the steak as it's brought to room temperature will give it time to absorb the salt, which will help with tenderization and crust development. Seasoning during the cooking process will instead amp up the umami-rich flavor of the meat.

If you're looking for the best cooking method, grilling is the chef-approved method for cooking a perfect ribeye steak at home. You can also bring showstopping color to your grilled ribeyes with the help of Worcestershire sauce.